A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and GentilesPaul's Letter to the Romans is one of the most influential writings of Christian theology. From the time of Augustine it has been central in discussions about sin and salvation, about guilt, fear of God, and gratitude for God's mercy. In this groundbreaking reinterpretation, Stanley Stowers argues that Christian tradition has interpreted Romans in an anachronistic fashion fundamentally different from how readers in Paul's time would have read it. He provides a new reading that places Romans within the sociocultural, historical, and rhetorical contexts of Paul's world. Stowers challenges the idea that salvation is the central issue of Paul's letter and that the letter's addressees include Jews. In Stowers's reading, Paul, a Jew immersed in Hellenistic culture, is addressing his letter to an audience of gentiles. Paul says that in faithfulness to his mission and God's promises, Jesus restrained his messianic powers, allowing an opportunity for gentiles to be redeemed. Thus God demonstrated his justice and, by raising Jesus, created a new line of kinship by the Spirit that will lead gentiles to moral and psychological self-mastery. The acceptance and self-mastery that gentiles seek is not to be found in observing teachings from Jewish law. According to Stowers, Romans neither offers an answer to human sinfulness nor presents Christianity as a religion of salvation. Stowers thus reinterprets the relation of Paul's Christianity to Judaism, the meaning of faith, and the significance of Jesus Christ. |
Contents
Toward a Rereading of Romans | 1 |
Readers in Romans and the Meaning of SelfMastery | 42 |
18216 | 83 |
Warning a Greek and Debating a Fellow Jew | 126 |
Pauls Dialogue with a Fellow Jew | 159 |
920 | 176 |
2133 | 194 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
Abraham adaptability akrasia Anacharsis ancient readers apostle argue argument audience Augustine believe boasting chapter characterization Christ's faithfulness circumcision claim concept context covenant cultural death depicts dialogue diatribe discourse discussion E. P. Sanders Epictetus Ernst Käsemann ethic of self-mastery evil example God's impartiality God's promises God's righteousness gospel Greco-Roman Greek Hellenistic Hesiodic human Ibid interlocutor interpretation Israel Jesus Christ Jewish Christians Jewish teacher Jews and gentiles Josephus Judaism judge justice keep the law language live Maccabees means Medea mercy messianic moral Moses narrative nations natural law Origen passions and desires Paul Paul's letters person Philo philosophical pisteōs pistis problem prosopopoiia protreptic punishment Räisänen relation religion repentance rhetorical Romans Rome sacrifice salvation says scholars scripture second temple sense sinners sins social speaks speech-in-character Stoics teaching temple Testament theme theology tiles tion Torah traditional reading translation understanding University Press Verses words writes